Alternate Alien Force
by Scarlett Rose Petal
Summary: A series of unfortunate events... an you end up feeling sorry for Kevin at the end. Contains, of course, Gwevin! Written as a challenge for Mr. Anonymous.
1. Chapter 1

Everything was quiet at Frank Tennyson's home. He and his wife were sitting down in the living room, him reading a newspaper, while Lili read a book. The man smiled at his wife fondly over the top of the sports section. He knew how peculiar his family was, and how much she'd had to deal with, but Frank had worked hard to give the woman he loved a normal life. The result of his hard work could be found all around them. The house they lived in was normal, if not a little extravagant, their daily activities were normal, and they had the most wonderful daughter who got straight As and almost never complained about anything.

Fortunately, Frank wasn't upstairs at that moment. If he had been, he might have noticed the strange, pink glow emanating from the cracks between the door and the doorframe of his perfect daughter's room. He might even have been so bold as to go into that room to find out why the young red head was playing with artificial, pink lights. Instead, he would have found the girl floating up in the air, her legs crossed, eyes shining a bright shade of magenta, a pink glow illuminating from her in every direction.

Most definitely not normal.

Gwen was meditating. It was a calming exercise to do after practicing making beams of the pink energy shoot out from her fingertips. It was a dangerous thing to be doing in her room, since she could easily break something, but what options did she have? Ben's house? While that was a possibility, especially since Ben broke stuff on a regular basis, the 15-year-old didn't exactly feel like explaining to her parents why she was going to her cousin's house at 7 p.m.

Suddenly, she felt something. The girl gasped and opened her eyes. The 'something' immediately went away as she fell back on her bed. Gwen sat up and frowned at her door. It was like something was ripping a hole in her very being. It _hurt_. But she'd had this feeling before. What frustrated the girl was that she didn't know what it was! It appeared at regular intervals almost every other day around this time. She'd been expecting it, but the pain was still a shock.

_It's just your powers,_ the girl tried to console herself. _Nothing out of the usual. You probably accessed something new._

Cheered up by the thought of finally understanding her powers, the young witch crossed her legs and went back to meditating. Her powers had been a mystery to her ever since that summer when she and Ben had learned that aliens really did exist, and that they were living on their planet at that very moment, living normal lives, just the same as anyone else. The red head didn't like mysteries. Of course, she enjoyed reading them as much as any normal, teenage girl, but in real life, they were unnecessary complications that simply added to karate tournaments, French tests, Emily's piano recitals, and the rest of her AP classes. These things all worked together to make Gwen Tennyson's life as difficult as possible. She didn't need anything else to top all that off. But her powers were a part of the young girl's life, and she never said no to a challenge.

There it was again. The feeling like something was ripping inside of her. Gwen gasped as she went limp and tried to pull out of her trance. It wasn't working, though. Her gasp turned into a groan as the girl fought the pain threatening to overtake her. It had never been this bad before. Abruptly, it didn't matter anymore. There was no more pain, no more ripping. She wasn't in her room, but in some abandoned factory over on the dark, spooky part of town that no one ever went to. There was a portal there, carefully hidden by crates and boxes. A portal that, even in her state of mind, Gwen found familiar. It was red and pulsing with life. A portal to another dimension…a dimension she knew…a dimension she'd been in before as a little girl with-

She ran.

Ignoring the stares Gwen got from her parents, she ran out of her house, grabbing her purse along the way. If only she could get there fast enough, maybe then she could stop him. But she was already so exhausted… Her powers really had done a number on her this time.

After a few blocks, the red head stopped at a lamppost to catch her breath. It was apparent that she couldn't run anymore. The factory she'd seen was on the other side of town, and her house was nowhere near a bus stop. Summoning up every last bit of strength she had, Gwen cast a spell – a transportation spell. She was immediately enveloped in bright, pink light, that, when it evaporated, revealed the red, pulsing portal the young red head had seen in her vision. And, in front of that portal, a curios look on his face, stood someone the red head knew well, even if she hadn't seen him for five years.

Kevin Levin.


	2. Chapter 2

Kevin Levin was annoyed. He was also curious, suspicious, and more than a little surprised, but annoyance was the teen's predominant emotion at the moment. He had suffered in the Null Void for five years, dealing with double-crossing fools, murderers, robbers, and the like for the technology he'd needed to break out of the prison dimension; it had taken him nearly a year to assemble the tech and find enough power to generate the portal. (He was lucky that an anodite had gone rogue and ended up thrown into the dimension. He repressed a shudder at the memory. It wasn't like he'd _wanted _to hurt her. _She_ tried to kill _him_.) And now, when he was _finally_ free to live his own life, there was that damn _Ben Tennyson's _freaking – although kinda hot – smart-mouthed _cousin_ with her freaking_ powers _waiting to welcome him home. Really, the osmosian felt he had a right to be more than a little annoyed.

His dark eyes narrowed as he took in her appearance. Out of breath, presumably from using her magic too much – the girl needed more practice, that much was obvious, – tall and slim, dressed in a blue sweater, white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a black skirt, her red hair having grown out since they were kids. She was totally hot, as the teen had already noted, and, if he wasn't busy trying to get revenge on, or trying to get away from, her cousin, Kevin would have totally hit on her. The few women who ended up in the Null Void had all taken a liking to him. He knew he wasn't exactly ugly, either.

The red head looked strong, but, at the same time, fragile, too. For one horrible moment, the teen felt the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her until she didn't look as if she was going to collapse on the floor of the- warehouse? This was where Argit sent him? Well it made sense, considering most warehouses in Bellwood were on the far side of town, abandoned and left alone. No one would even think to look for a portal to a parallel dimension here…

"Kevin," the girl said, the word a breathy sigh on her lips. She still hadn't gotten her breathing back under control. He waited patiently. This was a fight he would surely win, but he needed to give the girl at least a fighting chance. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair, taking her down so easily. Hurting his loved ones, as Kevin had learned long ago, was a way to get to Ben, and, once the bearer of the Ultimaterix saw how the osmosian trashed a member of his beloved family, he would come to him, like a moth drawn to a flame – the idea of revenge, or rather justice, as the hero would have called it, consuming his thoughts. Once, the idea of doing such a thing would have been a spark leading to an inferno of mistakes in the raven-haired teen's life. Now, he all but cringed from the idea. He was a different man. A better man. He would take the girl down, but wouldn't harm her. Much. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Gwendolyn," he sneered her name, smirking as he saw her jaw tighten, "Shouldn't you be studying at the library or something?"

"I came here to put you back where you belong," the girl said in a voice much stronger and steadier than it had been two seconds ago. He was infuriating her. Good. "How did you get out of the Null Void?"

"I know a guy," Kevin answered, that same smirk never leaving his pale face, "You really think you can take me down, princess? Well then, give it your best shot."

The jade eyes, an exact replica of his old enemy's narrowed, and, in a moment, disks of pale pink light started shooting out of the girl's hands, all directed at him. He dodged each one easily, amused at her pathetic attempts at hurting him, and slightly impressed that she could now do magic without even having to say a few words. She was getting better…

But so was he.

With every step he took, with every disk she threw, he moved closer, and she moved back. She was readying herself for an attack, one that wouldn't come for some time. His strategy was simple: tire her out completely and wait for her to collapse. If that didn't work, he'd knock her out. He'd already sighted a box full of metal crowbars. A small concussion would be a small price to pay for the sparing of the true damage that he could do to her.

As the osmosian expelled the memories of the past from his mind, his strategy was working. Gwen could feel herself tiring out, the energy draining from her being. There were no living things around, nothing for her to draw energy from. The location was perfect. She'd be down within five minutes.

No, Gwen couldn't afford to think like that. She remembered what her adversary had done, all the people he'd hurt, all the people he'd tried to hurt, wanted to hurt… what he'd done to Ben… the arm of his mutated form holding her in a choke-hold against him, threatening to kill her if Ben didn't give up the Omnitrix… Ben.

She had to be strong for him. If Kevin beat her, he'd go after him. Ben had such a good, normal life now. He was on the school soccer team, was doing okay with his grades, and didn't have to deal with aliens. She didn't want to ruin that for him. This had to end, here and now. If she went down, she was taking this monster of a man with her.

Propelled by the power of her anger, the young woman drove onward, stopping her retreat and instead moving forward, closer to her enemy. Once they were only a few feet away from each other, she dropped her hands and, unexpectedly, jumped at him, aiming a kick at his stomach, mentally thanking her parents for encouraging her to stick with karate.

Kevin jumped aside, dodging the kick, and ended up falling into a mound of perilously stacked boxes, which collapsed on top of him. Gwen knew he wasn't beaten yet, though. It took more than a few pounds of junk to bring Kevin Levin down.

She was right.

A metal leg kicked her feet out from under her, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards on the floor. A few seconds later, a metallic figure in the shape of the 16-year-old jumped out of the debris. He immediately jumped on her, intending to pin the girl to the ground and go with plan B and knock her out against the floor, but she rolled out of the way just in time.

"What happened to your powers?" she asked as both of them rose, and she started throwing manna shields again, which shattered easily against his metal armor. The girl was retreating again, and, instead of dodging and weaving an intricate path in her direction, the teen was walking straight forward. There was a pillar right behind her. If he could get her there, he'd knock her out, get out of this warehouse, and go build a new life for himself. The teen was almost panting for breath. If he got a chance to take down his old buddy Benji, he'd take it without a second thought. Until then, he'd have to be careful. Who knew when this pretty little red head would decide to come after him again? He realized what she was by the magic she was using. He'd already hurt her, her kind, and her family. The young man felt guilty for what he'd done to her and her grandpa. A few months ago he'd learned that the man had been his father's partner when they were both in the Plumbers. There was no way to rectify that, but by leaving the young girl mainly unharmed would be going in that general direction… Besides, there were other things he had to take care of as well.

"Got some new ones," he said in response to her question from a moment ago, "The ones from the watch were a bad influence. Went straight to my head." He smirked. If only the girl knew how ironic and true those words were. That energy had messed with his mind and made him literally crazy. Now, thanks to Kwarrel, he was all better. Kwarrel… Another thing he'd have to deal with: the warden.

Finally, Gwen's back hit the metal pillar. She was trapped. The young witch quickly calculated how much time she'd need to in order to escape around it, when, suddenly, Kevin's body was flush against hers. She turned right, his arm hit the matter. She turned left, his other arm was in the way. Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his obsidian ones. She was caged, alone, in an abandoned warehouse, by a psychopath. Could life get any worse?

"Good night, Gwendolyn," he smirked and, suddenly, it was too much. The overuse of her powers, seeing Kevin again, the battle… and she was so tired… so, so tired… She passed out. He pulled his arms away the second she lost consciousness and watched her limp body slide to the ground, sweeping his arm under her to catch her. His body had gone back to normal, the metal armor disappearing. The criminal lifted the honor student in his arms and carried her to a nearby box with pillows in it – seriously, what kind of warehouse was this? – and set her down. There were dark rings under her eyes that he hadn't noticed before. He was probably doing the girl a favor, letting her sleep like this. How much dream-time did she normally get? Two? Three hours a day?

With a shake of his head, the osmosian turned back to his surroundings and immediately spotted a small purse lying on the ground. She'd probably dropped it in the fight. The teen went over to it, picked it up, peeked inside, and a wide smile spread across his face. Inside was a cell phone, a wallet, house keys, make up, ear plugs, – what did she need those for? – and various other items the teen couldn't name. He took out the wallet, tucking it into his back pocket, and the cell phone. Scrolling down the list of contacts, he finally found Ben's, and sent the words:

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT

Having no idea what the address was, the teen set the purse next to its owner and sighed. Kevin brushed a curl out of the red head's eyes and loomed over her, a sad look on his face. Sleeping like this, she looked almost peaceful, if it hadn't been for the frown on her face. For now, she was better off enjoying a few hours of peaceful oblivion before her cousin showed up with an army to take her back home.

"I'll see you soon, Gwen," the osmosian promised, his lips ghosting over her forehead, before turning around and exiting the building without looking back.


	3. Chapter 3

In the living room of a small suburban house, an episode of Sumo Slammers was playing on the television. Sitting on the couch, roughly three or four feet away from the television, was Ben Tennyson. It was a normal night, just like any other. He'd gotten his geography test back that day, and was thrilled to find that his grade was a B. His parents had been pleased, too. It was the reason why the young Tennyson was allowed to watch TV and eat chili fries before dinner.

Sandra Tennyson was in the kitchen, watching her son with a loving expression on her face. As she chopped the carrots, Sandra couldn't help but be proud of the way the teen had turned out. He was such a good kid, actually trying to be good in school, being nice to his cousin, and even doing chores she knew he hated. He was unlike the other boys in town, most of whom were unruly and disobedient, to say the least. She vaguely remembered meeting a woman in the market that day, by the name of Evelyn Levin. Poor Evelyn. Her first husband had passed, and she'd divorced the second when her son, Kevin, ran away from home. Then, she'd moved here. Sandra had felt so sorry for the woman, who was barely older than her, and was silently thanking whatever higher power there was that Ben had turned out to be such a wonderful son.

The 15-year-old was so engrossed in his TV show, that he barely even registered his phone vibrating in his pocket, letting him know he had gotten a text. He sighed, annoyed at the interruption, and pulled out his phone. It was from Gwen.

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT, the message read plainly.

Warehouse district? What was that supposed to mean? Was he supposed to go there? Was his cousin really expecting him to go to the freaking warehouse district at eight o'clock at night when _Sumo Slammers_ was on? She knew it was his favorite show! There was absolutely no way he was going to abandon his reward for all his hard work on that test just because Gwen was suddenly in the mood to go patrolling around the warehouse district!

Still, she was his cousin… What if something had happened? What if she was hurt?

After a moment's hesitation, the teen dialed the red head's number, pressing the phone to his ear. No answer. Ben left a message.

"Hey, Gwen, it's Ben. I just got a text from you… Something about the warehouse district? Anyway, if you don't call me back in five minutes, I'm going there, so, please, call me back. Sumo Slammers is on!"

He pressed the End Call button, hopefully ending whatever this weirdness was. Maybe it was just some idiot who had taken Gwen's phone and was trying to play a prank on him. He definitely wouldn't put it past JT and Cash. But there was a weird feeling in the ex-hero's stomach, like there was something wrong… Like Gwen was in danger… Like it had something to do with aliens…

He shook it off. Aliens hadn't bothered him for five years. Why would they start now? The brunet boy turned back to his show. It was no good. Not even Sumo Slammers, the greatest show _ever_, could distract him. There was something wrong. He just knew it.

Sandra looked up from her salad as a distracted looking Ben jumped out of his seat and pulled on his jacket. She glanced at the TV screen. Two large fat guys were still pummeling each other. The show wasn't over. She turned to regard her son curiously. He paused to explain, hand already on the doorknob, not turning around to meet her eyes.

"I'm going out to see Grandpa Max, Mom. I'll be back before dinner." Grandpa Max was a good enough excuse. The old man would cover for them both, but he'd definitely want to know why. Ben really hoped Gwen had a good explanation.

"Alright, dear," Sandra smiled, turning back to her vegetables. "Such a good boy…" she muttered as the door shut. The knife she was holding promptly bit into the pad of her thumb. "Ow!"

The first thing Gwen registered as she came to was the fact that she was engulfed in pillows. Glaring up at the ceiling, she tried to shift so that she could sit up, but to no avail. The pillows shifted along with her, which only made the young anodite sink further and further into the pillows, until she was standing at the very bottom of the box. Huffing an annoyed breath, she started clawing her way through the cotton, trying to clamber out of her 'cell'. She had absolutely no energy left to do a spell, and, even if she had, what was she supposed to do? Make the box explode? She wasn't so advanced in magic that she could make herself float out of it.

Sighing again, the irritated red head dropped back into the pillow box, her legs half buried in the heap. She frowned at the beams on the ceiling.

"Well, isn't this just great?" she muttered under her breath. Kevin Levin was back. Her powers were down. She'd been asleep who knew how long, and her parents were probably worried. _Very _ worried. And to top it all off, she was trapped in a freaking _pillow box_ with no way to get out!

It was the first thing that worried her most, though. Taking a deep breath, Gwen forced herself to analyze the fight that had ensued. Everything about Kevin, from his powers to the way he moved when fighting her. He had gotten better, smarter, less brash. His technique had been little more than constant dodging, which suggested that either he was weaker than he let on, or he didn't want to hurt her. The latter didn't make sense, so she decided to believe the first. After all, why wouldn't Kevin Levin want to hurt her? She had helped put him in the Null Void. Plus, she'd seen the animosity, the fire, the rage in his eyes when they looked into hers, an exact duplicate, she knew, of Ben's. It made sense for him to hate her, to want her dead even, and yet…

He'd barely touched her.

He hadn't knocked her out. She'd gone down on her own. He hadn't taken advantage of her weakness, of her helplessness. He'd merely waited until she was too tired to continue and watched her pass out. Gwen had a vague recollection, in that strange state between sleeping and waking, of being pressed against a solid chest as she was carried off someplace. A place she now realized was here. Kevin hadn't left her. He'd taken an extra minute to make sure she was comfortable before he left. Put that together with the fact that he had looked hot, to put it mildly, and she was actually starting to have doubts about the teen's true nature. The thought unsettled her. He was a criminal, a sociopath. And no matter what, she couldn't forget that.

With great difficulty, the 15-year-old lifted her head and surveyed hr surroundings for a moment, trying to find her purse. She needed to call Ben, to tell him he was in danger, to tell him that his childhood enemy was back, ready to kill him, and, most of all, tell him to come get her before she drowned in the sea of pillows surrounding her. She found it lying abandoned and forgotten a short distance away from where the portal had been.

The witch was suddenly hit with another perplexing thought. How had Kevin gotten out of the Null Void in the first place? She didn't remember any of Ben's aliens being able to create portals through two dimensions. And he wasn't strong enough to do that by himself. Not unless he'd stolen the power from someone else…

Gwen shook off the thought. The idea of some other poor soul, no matter what crime he or she had committed, being subjected to that kind of torture was unthinkable. But, then, how had he gotten those new powers? Were they just an extent of his own? If he could absorb energy, he could absorb matter? Or were they the stolen capabilities of a cellmate back in the Null Void?

She huffed out a ragged breath. She was doing it again, scaring herself thinking about all the horrible things Kevin could have done. With extreme difficulty, the young girl lifted her hand, gathered manna at her fingertips, and shot out a ray of it at the purse. It was promptly encircled in a pink light, and drifted over to rest on a large pale blue pillow with intricate rose patterns next to Gwen's arm. She picked it up, panting from the mental work out, and opened it to find her cell phone. The small screen was flashing, letting her know she had one message from Ben Tennyson. She pressed a button and listened to it.

"_Hey, Gwen, it's Ben. I just got a text from you… Something about the warehouse district? Anyway, if you don't call me back in five minutes, I'm going there, so, please, call me back. Sumo Slammers is on!"_

Making an annoyed noise in the back of her throat, the red head checked the time of the call. 8:02. It was now 9:08. It would have taken Ben half an hour to get here on his bike, twenty minutes if he hurried, which meant he was probably on his way back home by now. Sighing with guilt, Gwen dialed the number, hoping Ben wasn't too far away. He picked up on the third ring.

"_Gwen?" _her cousin said on the other end. Her guilt only grew at the relief in his voice. _"Thank God. You had me worried there. Are you okay?"_

"I'm fine, Ben," she answered, smiling. He'd actually been genuinely worried. He had grown up so much since that summer…

"_Good,"_ More audible relief. Gwen's smile widened. _"Where are you?"_

The young girl took a quick look around. She hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings when she'd gotten there. The ebony-haired, well-muscled teen killer had taken precedence over any other trivial matters, such as the fact that her powers were down, or she had no clue where she was, how to beat him, or even how to get back home. Gwen mentally scolded herself for her thoughtlessness. _Next time,_ she promised herself, knowing full well there would be a next time, _Next time, I'll get him._

"_Gwen?" _Ben's voice, now back to worried, interrupted her thoughts, _"You still there?"_

"Yeah, Ben," the red head answered with a sigh, "I'm in one of the warehouses."

"_Which one?"_

"I'm not sure…"

"_Are you telling me that you rushed out of your house in the middle of the night to go to the freaking _warehouse district, _and you have no idea where you are?" _the once great hero snapped, annoyance now the dominant emotion in his voice, _"Geez, no wonder that text was so cryptic."_

"I didn't send that text, Ben," the young anodite said, exhausted, knowing that she couldn't handle one of Ben's freak-outs right now. But he had to know. He had to know the danger he was in, the danger they were all in. He had to know Kevin was back. He had to know he was stronger than ever.

He had to know he'd just kicked his cousin's ass without even trying. Gwen grumbled a curse under her breath.

"_Whoa, Gwen," _Ben was alarmed, _"I don't think I've heard you curse since, well, never. What's going on? Did someone hurt you? And what do you mean you didn't send that text?"_

"Ben, please, calm down!" Gwen sighed, exasperated.

"_Don't tell me to calm down!" _He was yelling now. The boy's cousin held back another curse. _"I'm not the one trapped in some warehouse calling his cousin to get him out of there! Now answer the questions! Starting with: Did someone hurt you?"_

After a moment's deliberation, the anodite gave in, shaking her head on the embroidered pillow her head was pressed against. She unwillingly grumbled, "Not exactly…"

A sharp intake of breath could be heard. An ominous silence followed. Gwen let out a sigh. When Ben's family got hurt, whoever was responsible had to pay. That was his rule. If Kevin had actually hurt her, her righteous cousin would have taken it upon himself to track the teen down, Omnitrix or no Omnitrix, and make him see exactly what happened when you messed with the Tennyson family.

When he finally spoke, the 15-year-old's voice sounded strained, controlled, furious. _"Who was it?"_

"Ben, I really don't think that-"

"_Who was it, Gwen?" _He was close to losing it, she could just hear it. Kevin Levin was in deep trouble now. If he wasn't going back to the Null Void, he'd have to deal with something possibly even worse. Gwen let out another sigh.

"Kevin Levin."

Silence.

"Ben? Ben?" she asked into the phone, making the mistake of trying to sit up on her elbows. The pillows jostled again and she fell back into the box, her legs half-dangling in the air, one arm buried in the mounds of cotton-encased duck feathers, causing the red head to tilt to one side, phone still in hand. The contents of her purse toppled down on one of the largest pillows. Everything was there except…

"My wallet! That idiot stole my wallet!"

"_He hurt you _and _he stole from you?"_ Ben had suddenly regained the ability to speak normally. _"That's it, I'm getting the Omnitrix and putting him right back where he belongs!"_

"He didn't hurt me, Ben," Gwen said, slightly irritated at both her cousin and the wallet snatcher, "I mean he probably would have, but he didn't have to. I was already so exhausted that he didn't need to do anything, really. Just stall me for a while. Then I collapsed on my own."

"_What?" _For some reason, this piece of news had fueled the anger in her cousin. Gwen resisted the urge to hang up and go back to trying to find another way of getting out of this mess. _"If you were so tired, why didn't you call me? I could've gone with you, I could've helped! We could've sent him back to the Null Void tonight!"_

"And how exactly would we do that, Ben?" the anodite snapped, "In case you're forgetting, you don't have the Omnitrix anymore. What would you have done? Kick him back to the Null Void with soccer balls? I don't think so."

There was quiet on the other end for a while. Ben seemed to be debating something, and Gwen had the horrible feeling she knew what it was. _"I would've put it back on."_

Yep, she was right.

"Ben, no," her voice had taken on a pleading note she wasn't too proud of, "You're finally living a normal life. Having to deal with the aliens and the mysteries of the universe again… You don't deserve that. Going to school, being with friends, playing soccer, being _normal_… You've earned that."

A cackling noise resonated from her phone. He had just sighed. She was being difficult, she knew, but it was the truth. And he knew it. _"We'll talk about this when I find you. And, Gwen, I will find you, I promise."_

"Thanks, Ben," she smiled tiredly and hung up. Her head, as if of its own accord, slid back to rest on the soft pillows. Gwen frowned up at the ceiling, waiting for her cousin, contemplating what was to come.

Kevin Levin pulled up outside a rather small, one-story house in one of Bellwood's so-called 'bad neighborhoods'. He parked the car he'd rented using Gwen's credit card – the poor girl's parents would probably blame her when they got the credit bill for renting a car without telling them, but who cared? She was probably spoiled enough, just like she'd been when he'd last seen her; a spoiled, smart-mouthed little rich kid who didn't know when to shut up. He could still remember how she'd fought in his grasp when her idiot of a cousin had decided to trick him and Vilgax into letting her go. Kevin grimaced at the memory.

First thing tomorrow morning, he planned on going to the store to get some new clothes, since he couldn't go around in the same shirt forever. Granted, of course, that Gwen's parents didn't cancel her credit card if she reported it stolen to them. Luckily, tomorrow was Saturday, and the bank would be closed, or so he hoped…

Begrudgingly, Kevin pushed on the handle that opened the driver's side door and stepped outside in the cool night air. A gentle breeze blew around the teen and he inhaled the fresh air like he'd never felt it before. Then again, it had been five years since he'd so much as seen Earth. He hadn't been in Bellwood since he was a kid, and now, after all these years, he was right back to where he'd started, in the place that held some of his most cherished, as well as dreaded memories.

He slowly made his way down the paved path to the front door, pausing to take a deep breath to settle himself. He was nervous. He, Kevin Levin, who had fought countless monsters and criminals alike, was _nervous_. The teen's face twisted into something between disgust and surprise. He swallowed his fear, for yes, there was a little bit of that in there, too, and rapped his knuckles lightly against the wood of the door.

There was no answer.

The osmosian frowned and knocked again, louder this time. The sound of clutter came from within and he looked to the open window, trying to see anything. He heard a female voice curse and mutter about who could possibly be knocking at the door at this hour. A few moments later, the door flew open to reveal a tired-looking woman with wide, dark eyes. She regarded Kevin, blatant shock visible in her face. Tears filled those obsidian eyes, an exact replica of his.

"Kevin?" the woman managed to rasp out, her hand flying to her mouth as she choked on a sob. His eyes filled with tears as well, and yet, somehow, he managed a lopsided halfhearted smile. He couldn't stop himself from pulling the crying woman into his large, masculine arms. A small part of his brain was horrified at the extremely emotional way this encounter was going, but the majority of his mind didn't care. She wrapped her slight arms around his torso and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Yeah," he told her, "It's me, Ma."


End file.
